Monday, January 29, 2007
Namibia and FullTiltPoker
Reasons for title. Reason number one is... *drumroll*
haha i won a play money poker tournament! beat out 89 other players to win, including calling the one point run-away chip leader's bluff, as shown in the above hand. That basically won me the tourney hehe =)
and NAMIBIA! haha i first checked Raleigh International's website at the urging of my mom a few months back, shortly after i ORDed.. (to think that i've been bumming around since september, when i started to clear leave.. its 4 months. what have i been doing sigh.) but at that time i decided that i wasnt ready for such a commitment, and left it at that. but those long months of lazing around and semi-job hunting (turned down 2 possible jobs, one at PWC and one at DSTA.. the PWC one was probably a huge mistake) made me realise just how much i've been wasting my life away. In a sense i'm glad that i've come to realise this myself, rather than having just taken one of those jobs on a whim. To me growing up is a process you'll have to do on your own, and even though in hindsight those months were indeed a waste, i did learn a very valuable lesson; more importantly i grew up. The past few days have been a flurry of emails to various job agencies and companies, i even inquired about internship at mediacorp (the very first reply i got from anybody, though it was to tell me that sadly they only take official internships with recognition from the student's institution). And then it was Monday, and everything changed.
Had a conversation during lunch with my mom about habitat for humanity (another programme i had looked into before) and bible study fellowship (something which i'll still follow up on). This led me to once again visiting Raleigh's website and this time i decided to act. I sent an email enquiring about the upcoming programmes planned in Costa Rica/Nicaragua and Namibia. I didnt have too much hope for any success, as their website advised that participants apply 6-12 months in advance. But just a few hours ago i received a response, letting me know that there were still vacancies to the programme in Namibia! I wasn't so excited at first, but as i read more about Namibia and read more about their programmes i just felt this wave of energy. Its as if all the lethargy built up over the last 4 months has been washed away! haha kinda cheesy i know, but thats really how great i feel about this. My mom wants me to consider their programme in Borneo instead.. but i'm really so much more interested in going to Namibia. I've only ever been to Malaysia (Church retreats mainly) Thailand (with school and army) and Australia (only once as a kid), so Namibia would be an amazing experience for me. Now i just have to follow up. I know that this isnt a decision to be rushed, especially since a 10 week programme would cost nearly $8000, not including airfare. And i tend to get caught up in the moment when i'm decision making. So this is something i'll give thought too. There's no turning back now though. One factor pushing me towards this is also the fact that this would probably be my only chance to go as a participant, as by the time i finish uni i'd be out of the specified age range for participants.
Whew! Gotta calm down. Will probably have difficulty getting to sleep.. and i want to wake up in 6 hours to go jogging too lol. Need to get into shape.. my IPPT window will be opening soon as well *rawr*.
There, another update. Expect more to come, as long as i'm riding this wave of optimism. I used to blog loads when i had my cycles of optimism and depression. But recently its just been cynicism.. it feels great to be optimistic again =)
or so it seems, at 10:50 PM
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Dialectics and Rubik's Cubes
Back by popular demand. Or well, demands on my tagboard at least. And not really 'back', because i didnt go anywhere. Whatever.
Just watched Singapore make it through to the AseanFC finals.. barely, it must be said. I can already see tomorrow's headlines.. 'hero and villian: lionel lewis saves the day' or something like that. Newspapers get predictable after awhile. Speaking of newspapers, i have to bitch about Rob Hughes again. He wrote an article about soccer players brains beginning at their toe and ending at their knee, and went on to comment about the greed in football. Stuart Pearce had related an episode where he had asked a young player 'which would you prefer, a cap for england or a Ferarri', to which the kid (his maturity defines him as a 'kid') said 'A Ferrari of course, aren't they fantastic?' [nothing is exact, this is just a gist of what i recall]. Well everyone hates the way the game is slowly becoming a business, in which money can buy titles (see Chelsea FC). But to choose a car over playing for your country? That's ridiculous. Anyway so Rob Hughes went on to say how Rio Ferdinand was such an example, moving from Leeds United to ManU for money. That is also ridiculous. Im sure players move to ManU for the money, and not to win trophies. Not to play at the greatest football club in the world, but to reap in the dough. Not to be recognised as a great player, not to become a legend, but to ... you get the idea. So Rob Hughes, get your ideas right. Glen Johnson might have been silly to steal a toilet and some taps.. but he's not the one missing a brain.
Meanwhile have been spending a lot of time at people's houses.. haha yeah. Board-games is the rage now! And card games, and mahjong, and whatever other activity we can cook up heh. And its great fun, even though i really need to get a job. Wish i was more motivated though. And hanging out with the greatest friends a guy can have is dimming my motivation. *grin*
Ok thats enough update for now.. might try something new the next time round. If i can my brain juices flowing, that is.
or so it seems, at 11:54 PM
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Seriously, utterly, completely. Derailed.
or so it seems, at 10:38 PM
